Manufacture of ice.



T. SHIPLEY.

MANUFACTURE OF ICE.

APPLICATION FILED 00120, 1914.

1,130,440. Patented M21122, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

T. SHIPLEY.

MANUFACTURE OF ICE.

APPLIOATION FILED 0QT.20, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Mar. 2

THOMAS SHIPLEY, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE OF ICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, THOMAS SHIPLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of 'York, in the county of York and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theManufacture of Ice, of which the following is a specification. Y

My invention relates to the can system of making ice, that is to say, asystem in which the water to be frozen is contained in cans of thinsheet metal immersed in a tank of cold brine. Its object is to segregateand take care of the impurities which, during the freezing operation,are separated from the water-particularly .if that Water be raw water;to render more efiicient the i freezing operation; to reduce the size ofthe cup which usually forms in the top of the.

ice during the freezing operation, without freezing therein any of thewater containing impurities; and to provide a ready means of separatingthe upper irregular part of the ice block containing the cup, or suchpart thereof asmay be desired, rom the rest of the block so as to givethe latter a flat, or substantially flat, top.

I shall first describe, in connection with the accompanying drawings, anapparatus adapted to secure these desirable results, and will then pointout more specifically in the claims those features which I believe to Ibe new and of my own invention.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section through a can andassociated parts of a brine tank in which the brine is kept at lowtemperature by usual or suitable means typified by the-cooling orso-called ex of t Q can. Fig. 3 is a view of a device for thawing outtheair tube from the ice block.

In the drawing A represents the brine tank; B the cooling coils, throughwhichr circulates the refrigerant agent by which the brine with whichthetank is filled is kept at the requisite low temperature; C is the canwhich is immersed in the brine, and which contains the water to befrozen.

With a view to preventing the impurities in thewater from beingincorporated into the ice during-the freezing operation, air underpressure is injected into the body of water in the can at or near thebottom.

' Any suitable means for this purpose may be 5 employed. I make use of ametallicpipe D, having its closed lower end stepped m a Specification ofLetters men.

Application filed October 20, 1914. 'serinuvo. 867,824.

ansion coils B. Fig. 2 is a plan Patented Mar. 2, 191a.

socket or indentation a formed centrally in the bottom of the can.Perforations d for the air discharge are formed in the pipe at a,

suitable point at or near its lower end. And at the top the pipe isconnected through flexible tubing 6 with an air header 0, communicatingof air under pressure.

In the upper part of the can is located the perforated separating lateE, which is made of thin sheet meta or other ood conductor of cold, andis of a shape an size to fit fairly snugly the interior of the can, asindicated in Fig. 2. This plate incidentally furnishes a bearing orsupport for the upper end of the air pipe D, which passes down through acentral hole formed for its passage in said plate, as shown in Fig. 1.The pipe passes loosely through the plate, so that the one can be movedrelatively to the other, to permit the separation or assembling togetherof the two parts as desired. The perforations in the plate E are for thepurpose of permitting the free circulation of water above and below theplate during the freezing operation. The perforations and of such shapeand dimensions, as desired. The plate E is placed in the can near theupper end thereof and at about the point where the cup in the top of theice block is located freezing operation. Being a good temperatureconductor, it materiallyhastens the freezing at the top, and it alsoserves to very materially contract and reduce the dimensions of the cupwhichremains in theiii-which the can is immersed in order to provideabove the top of the ice a body of unfrozen Water sufficient to hold theimpurities separated out from the frozen water, and it should also beator near the level of the perforated separating plate; but its po sitionwith reference to the plate may vary within limits. In some cases, aswith fairly good potable rawwater, the water level may with a source ofsupply.

may be as many or as few,

at the conclusion of the Simithe level of the raw water in the can I bebelow the plate, while in other cases,

and I desire forated separating for instance when an increased surplusof unfrozen water is required to properly take care of the impurities inthe water to be frozen, the level of the water may be above the plate soto be understood as including any such variations in my claim. Theperplate E permits-of the use of var 'ng volumes of unfrozen water inthe can without affecting in any way the ice block, or rather thatportion of the block to be ultimately used, viz: the portion below' theplate.

By way of example, and without limiting myself to the precise figuresgiven, I may say that I have obtained excellent results in theproduction of ice from fairly good raw water by locating the perforatedconducting plate E in the can above the level of the outside brine, withthe can water at or a little below the level of the plate. With rawwater of this character filled in the can to a height of say threeinches above the brine level, and with the perforated separating plate Elocated in the can about four inches above the brine level (which wouldmake it one inch above the level of the water in the at the conclusionof the'freezingl can, at the beginning of the freezing), and with thefreezing continued until the block of ice is frozen up solidly to theplate, excepting (as indicated in Fig. l) a depression or cup 1 of abouttwo inches in depth at the center of the top under the plate, the saidcup or unfrozen part will be comparatively small, having a depth at thecenter of about two inches, as before said, and a width and length atthe top of about two and a half inches and eight inches respectivelya'cup very much smaller and with a much more contracted mouth than isproduced without the use of the plate. The cup 1 is also indicated inFig. 1 at 2 as continued up above the plate, -merging into the largercraterlike frozen portion 3 of the water above the plate, which extendsoutwardly to the walls of the can. This frozen portion, as well as theunfrozen body of water (not shown) left operation, will extend up sometwo or t ree inches above the perforated plate E, as indicated in Fig.1, where the outline of the cup and depression in the top of the ice,both above and below the perforated plate E, is shown. By filling thecan fuller, and freezing longer, the pocket or cup in the ice belowplate E can, of course, be made smaller, or eliminated entirely.

The plate E is suspended in place in the can in any suitable way, asforinstance by hangers E, which will permit it to be removed from the can.It is Iprovided with llftmg brackets or handles by which it may bereadily separated from the block of ice into the top of which it'isfrozen, and

as to completely immerse it,"

antenna lifted ofi therefrom carrying with it that portion of the icewhich formed above it, and leavin an ice block with a square flat top,unbro en save by a Slight central depression formed by what remains ofthe cup.

The socket by which the air tube is attached to the central air pipe Dis removable therefrom, to permit the said pipe to be removed with theice block into which it is frozen from the can. The separation of theair pipe from the block is readily efl'ected by thawing it out from theblock by suitable means. An electrical appliance for this purpose isillustrated in Fig. 3. As there shown it consists of a socket Grprovided with leading-in wires g, 9, connected to a source of electricalsupply, and electrically connected, the one to a plug it in the'socket,the other to an extension metallic sleeve 2' forming part of the socketand having electrical connection with the air pipe D, when the socket isfitted thereon. To the plug it is electrically connected the upper endof an insulated conducting wire 70, the lower end of which iselectrically connected to the bottom of the air pipe D. When current ison, the circuit will be from wire g to plug it, insulated conductingwire la, air pipe D, sleeve 2', to wire 9. The pipe D, being made of ametal of low conductivity, is heated by k the passage of the current,and consequently is thawed out from the ice. The socket G is providedwith a handle G through which the leading-in wires 9, g, pass; and inone of the wires 9 is a break adapted to be bridged by a pair ofnormally open contacts 772., m, controlled by a depressible switchbutton 91 mounted in and extending through to the interior of the handlein position to meet and operate the contacts as will be understoodwithout further explanation.

Under my improvement blocks of raw water ice of desirable commercialshape can be made by the can system free from the impurities whichordinarily are frozen into the cores and cups of such ice, or arewithdrawn with the impregnated water contained therein and replaced bypure water during the freezing-operation. By my invention theseimpurities are expelled from the ice as it forms and are driven into theunfrozen water which, with the impurities which it holds, passes frombelow up through the perforated plate above which it accumulates, withthe result that the ice thus produced is pure and transparent, havingonly a thin, filmy veil of white, lace-like appearance about six orseven inches wide extendmg up through the center from the point wherethe air discharge began, if looked at from the broad side of the block,and scarcely perceptible if viewed from the narrow instead of the broadside of the block. Moreover, the perforated separating and conductingplate E located, as it is, along the line which defines'the top of theblock to be produced, serves during the freezing operation, noto'nly-iby its conducting properties to hasten the freezing action in theupper part of the can where otherwise it would lag, thus effectingconsiderable saving in time, and thereby increasing the capacity of theplant and at the same time reducing the cost of production; but it alsodirectly serves to so reduce the form and size of the objectionablepocket usually formed in the top of can ice blocks as to render it anegligible factor, the plate by its separating action serving, whenremoved from the block into which it is frozen, to carry off with it allthat frozen refuse portion above it which would otherwise mar theappearance of the block;

llaving described my improvements, and the best way now known to me ofcarrying the same into practical effect, I state in conclusion that I donot limit myself to the details hereinbefore shown and described inillustration of my invention, for manifestly the same can be variedconsiderably without departure from the spirit of the invention: but

What I claim herein as new and of my own invention, is as follows: an

1. In apparatus for the manufacture 0 ice by the can system, thecombination of a brine tank; a can immersed in the brine in said tank,and filled with water to a height above the brine level; means forcontinuously forcing air under pressure into the lower part of, andthence upward through the can: and a perforated separating plate ordiaphragm of thin metal or other con ducting material, fitting andremovably held in the upper part of the can above the brine level and'ator near thelevel of the water with which the can is filled, arranged andoperating to define the top of the ice block to be produced and toseparate the same from the irregular ice above, to hasten the freezingaction in the upper part of the can, and to modify and reduce the formand size purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2'. The combination of the can, the perforated metallic separating plateor diaphragm fitting and removably held in the upper portion of the can,and the air pipe passing down through and supported at its upper end bysaid separating plate, and, at

of the pocket or cup usually formed in the top of can ice, substantiallyas and for the its closed lower end, stepped in the bottom of the can,substantially as set forth.

3. In the manufacture of ice by the can system, the combination of thebrigie tank,

a can adapted to be held in the brine in said I can at a point above thebrine level, and at or near the level of the water in the can before thefreezing operation, substantially" as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

, THOMAS SHIPLEY. Witnesses J. B. RABY, J. F. WrrMAN.

